He Must Live
by PurpleRanger101
Summary: Why are the other tributes protecting Peeta in the Quarter Quell?  How much do they know about the rebellion?  Why will they die for him and for Katniss?  Told from Finnick's POV mostly, takes place during Quarter Quell.  T for strictly violence
1. Alliance Meeting

I have finally decided how I will play this. How I will keep her alive and ready to be the Mockingjay when the time comes. After all, it is she and not him who must survive. But, in order for her to make it out of the arena, he must also survive. And so that is what everyone must do.

I look around the table. They're here, those that actually matter. Those who will be a part. It isn't all of them; no one would trust 1 or 2. But these are the ones who will make a difference. These twelve can protect him and get the job done that needs doing. First, of course, they'll need to know why they're doing what they're doing. Because it might mean their lives. It will mean their lives.

"Go on, Haymitch. We're all waiting for you, old man." Chaff rests his stump of an arm on the table. Next to him sits the woman from 11, Seeder. They're both ready to go, ready to avenge the whistler who was shot and the children who've been killed. Seeder doesn't speak much but I know she wants to do this for Rue, at least.

"Right." I say gruffly. I have to choose my words carefully. This must look like nothing more than arranging alliances. But they'll know. Each of them will know. I turn first to look at Finnick and Mags. He will be the most help to Katniss.

"Finnick, Katniss and Peeta are willing to ally themselves with you and Mags but only if you reach them at the Cornucopia. Any later than that and they'll write you off as expendable. Understand?" I didn't think there was any way the Gamemakers could read that as I truly meant it – Finnick and Mags would be the first line of defense for the Mockingjay. It would be up to the handsome tribute from District 4 to protect her and by extension…him.

Finnick nods and Mags garbles something I don't understand. I look to Finnick for a translation and he grins quickly. "Mags says we'll be there. But who could resist the bloodbath, really?"

I don't grin or smile or make any reaction but instead turn to the two morphlings from District 6. Kezzian and Jymizzo. Lots of times it seems like they're clueless. But really, when it counts, they'll be there. That's why they'll have the most difficult task.

"Kezzian, Jymizzo, Katniss and Peeta don't want to ally themselves with you." I don't feel bad saying this so harshly because I know they know what's at stake. They know how guarded I have to make my words. "But if you just keep out of sight, follow but never let them see you, they will probably need you and then will make alliances with you. Understand?"

Kezzian, the female tribute from 6, nods. She got it and therefore, so did her partner. They'd follow my two tributes and be ready when things didn't go the right way. I know I can count on them, even if everyone else thinks they can't. Thinks they're worthless. You'd be surprised how much a drunk can do. Or a morphling.

Now I turn to Johanna Mason and Blight, who are both sitting next to the tributes from 3, Wiress and Beetee. Johanna must get this right; she is the key to the plan, or at least part of the plan. "Johanna, Blight, Katniss is willing to ally herself with you two but only if you can bring Beetee and Wiress to her. She won't be able to keep them safe herself but you can do it for her. That is the only way. You two must protect Beetee and Wiress at the Cornucopia, while they get whatever they want and then meet up with Katniss. Understand?" I look at all four of them. They shake their heads and a barely noticeable wink from Beetee lets me know he is fully in acknowledgement of his part of the plan.

There will be a spool of wire at the Cornucopia and without it and without Beetee, it will all fail. Johanna will keep him safe. She might know of the wire; I'm not sure what she does know. But I know she'll keep Nuts and Volts, as the two from 3 are known, safe. Not for Katniss but for the plan. So…for Katniss.

Woof and Cecilia are next and there's not really anything special for them to know. So I just nod and say, "Katniss can use you two watching her back. Anything you do for her will likely convince her to form an alliance with you."

Cecilia has tears on her face and I feel like maybe we should have left her out of the plan. Told her to keep herself safe for the duration and stay alive. She's got kids, you know. But it's too late now. And besides, she and Woof asked for the alliance.

"Same goes for you, Chaff. Seeder. Katniss will need to see some gesture of good faith before she joins up with you. Peeta, he'll do it, he likes you, Chaff, but not Katniss. You'll have to prove it to her." They know what I mean. Keep Peeta safe. That's the underlying goal of everyone in the room. And they all know it.

"And Cashmere? Gloss? Brutus and Enobaria? The tributes from 5, 9 and 10?" That's Chaff. He knows what the answer will mean. Death or life.

"The Careers don't want to ally themselves with anyone who isn't a Career, except maybe you, Finnick." I wait to see what Finnick will say. This is how I will know his true intentions.

"Ha." Finnick laughs. "I know who my real friends are and they sure ain't District 1 or 2. I won't get close to them."

That's what I thought. He's told me he's against the Capitol, just in those few words. He's on our side. I look around the table again. "As for 5, 9 and 10, I don't know. They haven't asked for any alliances and I don't think they're looking to get too attached. If they attack you, take them out. If not, steer clear. I don't think many of them will make it past the bloodbath anyway."

Nods all around the table. These people are born killers and born survivors. They'll know what to do. When they get into that arena, they'll do their jobs.

The alliance meeting is over. Everyone stands to leave and I position myself beside Beetee as we leave. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. I nod once and then say, "How about that bread we had for lunch, Beetee? From every different district? It must take days for each district to make their own food." I can't afford to be any clearer than that. But he's smart; he'll figure it out. "And hours to package each roll or loaf. You make bread over in 3, Beetee?"

He knows he can't linger now. So he nods and heads out. I hope he got the message. It's out of my hands now. They'll be heading into the arena in the morning. All I can do now is watch and hope and wait for the opportunity and know that, whatever happens, if I don't save him, she'll hate me forever.

**Author's Note: Okay, I know this was short but it was kind of just an introduction type thing. This will be a story from mostly Finnick's POV but maybe some of the other tributes, on how they're working to keep Peeta and Katniss alive. Should be interesting. So, please, read and review! Tell me what you think!**


	2. Bloodbath

I bounce on the balls of my feet as I stand on the silver circle, waiting to be carried up into the arena. My stylist gives me one more longing look but I tune her out. She isn't my problem anymore. No, now my problem is survival. And not my own survival either. Hers. And his.

I'm not really sure how I ended up one of the rebels. Well, I take that back. I guess I do know. I became a rebel the day I turned sixteen. When President Snow showed up at my house in the Victor's Village in District 4…

_My mother announced him. I was upstairs, with Annie. We were talking; just talking. I didn't know why President Snow would have come to see me but I went downstairs anyway. And what happened was something no one could control._

_ He made me come to the Capitol each year and do whatever he wanted me to do with whomever he had chosen. And if I didn't, he said, Annie would die. I know he made her name come out of the ball the year of her reaping. That was his warning to me. I don't think he cared if she survived or not. It was a warning._

And now another life hangs in the balance and I know that if I succeed on my mission, Annie will be in danger. But I can't shrink back now; I have to carry this out to completion. The rebels must win. I feel the electric current begin coursing through my veins and I know it's almost time for the silver circle to shoot upward and bear me into the Quarter Quell.

Wonder what the arena will be like? A forest? A desert? Somewhere hard and bare, I bet. With none of the things that make it easy for Katniss Everdeen to survive. No edible plants, no easily-accessible rodents to shoot, cook and eat. And twenty-two victors yearning for her death. Well, that's what the Capitol wants anyway. But that's not what they'll get. Sure, Brutus and Enobaria, Cashmere and Gloss, they'll be gunning for Katniss, but they don't know they'll have to go through me. And Mags. Kezzian and Jymizzo. Seeder, Chaff, Cecilia and Woof. They don't know we've made an alliance.

Then I'm shooting upwards and I have to focus. The Cornucopia; that's where I must find Katniss and get her allegiance. I rub the bracelet Haymitch gave me last night. He said he didn't want Katniss to know I have it until it's necessary. Said it would make her trust me. I hope so. She doesn't seem like the trusting type and after the sugar cube thing, I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to skewer me.

Suddenly, the sun is glinting in my eyes and I squint. The patterns of light are instantly familiar to me and I know without a doubt where I am. The sea. It must be the sea. I have just sixty seconds to get adjusted, to find the Cornucopia and prepare myself. Then the gong will sound and time will move faster than ever. My eyes adjust and I look around. There's a victor to my right and a victor to my left. Also to my left is a small spoke of land that stretches out across the water to an island in the middle, upon which sits the Cornucopia. I look right – there's Beetee. He winks at me and jerks his head at the Cornucopia. He's gonna head in. To my left is Seeder. She also nods. Well. At least I'm not next to a victor from 1 or 2.

Then the sixty seconds are up and I rush for the spoke nearest Seeder. She reaches it at the same time I do and we pound up the sandy stretch together.

"8 and I have guard duty here. 1 and 2 are ours. Get out." She spits, her words so low that I can barely hear them and I know the Gamemakers cannot. The waves are too loud. But I know what she means. She and Woof and Cecilia are going to hold the others back while I get Peeta and Katniss away. They have to know that will result in their deaths. But they're going to do it anyway.

"Chaff," she hisses as we near the island and the Cornucopia. "At the end, he'll be watching." Then we're there and she goes left while I go right. I whisper a quiet 'good luck' even though she's out of sight. And then I'm in the weapons pile, looking for that which will help me succeed.

*Seeder's POV*

I snatch two knives from the pile of weapons and circle the Cornucopia. 5, 9 and 10 must die here or at least not get close to the Mockingjay. Woof passes me and I wink at him. There isn't anyone else here at the Cornucopia, not yet. Guess most of the other victors can't swim.

But here they come now. Down the spokes, into the middle. I barely spot Finnick hauling Mags out of the water and then the two of them, along with Katniss and Peeta, race off down a spoke towards the jungle. The Careers are racing after them and I dash around the Cornucopia, hoping to cut them off before they can reach Katniss and Finnick and the others.

I nearly trip over a body. A quick glance shows it is the drunk from District 5. He's dead. No time to think about that now; I have to stop the Careers. I yank a knife from my belt and hurl it at Brutus' back. Somehow, he hears it or senses it or knows it's coming somehow and whirls, raising that ridiculous belt and the knife wedges itself in the belt. Then they're onto the sand beyond the sea, rushing for the jungle where Finnick and his group have disappeared

They won't get far though. Cecilia and Jymizzo are converging on them, holding them up. I hear a noise behind me and turn in time to see the woman from District 10 pulling a knife back by her ear. In that instant, I know it's too late for me.

As the knife lodges itself between my breasts, I see Woof decapitate the woman. My knees give out and I sink to the ground. Woof's lips are moving but all I hear is a weird whooshing noise. All this…to have failed. All this…

* Woof's POV *

I didn't reach her in time. She wasn't from my district but right now, there's not a whole lot I can do for Cecilia either. Besides, she was a rebel. And now she's dead. There's no sense waiting for a cannon blast; there won't be one for Seeder or the woman from Ten that I just killed.

Water sloshes all around me and I spin, slowly, on my old legs. I never intended to win the Quarter Quell. I only hope that my death will mean something to the rebellion.

A quick glance out at the jungle shows the Careers changing paths, running off towards a different part of the jungle than where Katniss went. That's good. But there are bodies on the beach…one looks particularly familiar.

"Cecilia!" I shout. I leap over a long, wooden staff and jerk two long knives from the ground as I land, somewhat unsteadily, on my feet and race down one of the spokes. My feet slip in the sand but I keep my attention on the goal.

Two bodies lie in the sand right there, with one more person kneeling over them. Jymizzo's already dead, that much is obvious, but Cecilia is hanging on. She writhes on the sand, until I kneel and take her hand. Focusing on my eyes, she calms.

"The…Mockingjay…" she whispers.

"I know." Is all I say. I can't give anything away, not now. Not when the Games have begun.

Kezzian places her hand on Jymizzo's forehead, then stands and dashes off towards the trees. She, at least, will fulfill her part in the plan, even if her partner is gone.

"Father…" I hear Cecilia whisper. This, this is the thing no one in these Games knew about us. How interconnected we were. They were never to know. Now the people in the Capitol will be eating this up. My one goal in giving my daughter away at birth those years ago had been to keep her from the Games. It hadn't worked. But I had managed to keep her alive until now. I feel the life leeching from her body and know that it's time to let her go.

"I love you," I whisper and kiss her on the forehead.

A sound behind me alerts me to someone's presence but I don't have time to get up. I only stare at my beautiful daughter and wish…

* Johanna's POV *

My axe barely misses its target. The man from District 9 has shifted out of the way, leaving his knife hanging from the back of Woof's head. I know there is no hope from the old man from District 8. Another rebel dead. The man from 9 is turning towards us and Blight is rushing to meet him, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat.

A quick thrust with Blight's knee into his gut sends him wheezing for breath but he's a victor. He knows how to play. The man throws a punch and I want to jump in and help Blight but I know that I can't leave Nuts and Volts. My job is to protect them. Especially Volts. I must never let him out of my sight. He is the key, even more so than the Mockingjay is at this point. Besides, I know Blight won't die. He won't leave me alone in here.

Sure enough, the fight is over pretty quickly and we are about to head into the jungle when Volts starts jabbering about something.

"What?" I ask. Really, this job is not something I am suited for. Finnick should have had this job. Not me.

"The Cornucopia." He answers and heads for the one of the spokes, Nuts right behind him. I sigh and look to Blight, who jerks his head with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Follow the nutters." I mutter. At least the bloodbath's over, I think. I won't have to worry too much about protecting them.

Blight and I head up the spoke after Nuts and Volts. They've already reached the Cornucopia. Neither I nor Blight says much. We don't really have to. We've been training together for years, since both of us know what the other's been through.

A scream.

A shout.

I don't look at Blight; I just break into the fastest run I can and round the Cornucopia. What I see nearly gives me heart failure. I've already screwed up the plan. If Volts dies because of me, the plan dies because of me. Katniss dies because of me and by extension, Peeta. The rebellion dies because of me. _This _is why I hate moralizing. And plans. _Especially_ plans involving me.

Blight has his sword out and I have my axe ready as we come around the tail of the Cornucopia to see Volts reeling away, blood streaming from his back. The woman from 9 has Nuts up against the edge of the water. She's waving her knife in Nuts' face. Taunting her.

This time, my axe hits its target. Her head splits open and Nuts screams as the enemy hits the ground.

"Shut up!" I shout. I'm worried about Volts. Honestly, Nuts could kick it and I wouldn't care. But Volts…he's the key.

And now, he's on the ground. Blight is kneeling over him, probing a wicked-looking wound on his back. Nuts is up, moving around in circles, repeating the same phrase over and over.

"Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock." She mutters.

I move over the Blight. "How is he?" I ask.

"He'll live. But this gash is bad. I'll have to carry him." Standing to his feet, Blight puts Volts over his shoulder. I grab Nuts' arm and pull her after me.

"Into the jungle. We gotta go after Katniss and the others. I want my alliance with them." I move towards the jungle, Nuts stumbling along behind me.

"Oh yea. The jungle. That'll be fun," Blight deadpans as he follows.

_As long as we survive…all of us…it'll all be okay._

**Author's Note: So there's Chapter 2. Next chapter, we'll be back in Finnick's POV, backing up a few minutes to right after Seeder and Finnick split. Hope you liked this chapter! Please review!**


	3. Alliance

After I split with Seeder, I run to the pile of weapons. This is no time to be choosy and yet it is the perfect time to be choosy. My eyes search for that one weapon, the one that others have said is a natural extension of my arm. I am sure it will be in the pile; the Capitol viewers would go ape if I was denied the trident.

Ah. There it is. Beautiful gold with three perfectly sharpened points. The trident I knew would be in the selection. A net lies buried beside it and I snatch both up. Time is ticking away and I have to find Katniss. No time to grab other weapons or look for food; maybe there's food on the other side of the pile.

Rounding the pile, I come up short when I spot Katniss in front of me, back tense, already fitting an arrow to the string as she turns to face me. Her face shocks me, at first. It is the face of a killer and I know I'll have to pour on the charm to get her to like me. To trust me.

I throw on a small smile but there's nothing I can do to relax my muscles. They'll stay tense throughout the entire games, I know that from experience. "You can swim too," I say. I can't think of anything else _to_ say. "Where did you learn that in District Twelve?"

Her reply is scathing, as I knew it probably would be. I'll have to let it roll off my back. "We have a big bathtub," she says.

"You must." I wonder where Peeta is. Perhaps he can't swim? Would she have left him? Maybe they weren't next to each other on the silver circles. "You like the arena?" Of course she doesn't like the arena. It's not a forest. Not home.

"Not particularly." She doesn't take her gaze from mine. "But you should. They must have built it especially for you."

Wonderful. She's not thrilled with me already. And I haven't even done anything unless you count the sugar cube thing. But that was so long ago. It's not my fault the Gamemakers chose this arena. They just don't like her.

Katniss doesn't move and neither do I. I look at her golden bow and the sheath of arrows still buried in the pile and know that there's death waiting at the tip of each one. She's staring at my trident and the edges of her lips are trembling, I can tell, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.

Finally, I can't take it anymore. I put on the biggest grin I can – my lady-killer smile – and say, "Lucky thing we're allies. Right?"

Her fingers tighten on the bowstring and I know it's over for me. So much for my protection. She doesn't want it. Then I remember…the bracelet. I twist my arm, just a bit and the bracelet glints in the sunlight. I follow her gaze down my arm to the gold circlet and see her eyes widen in recognition.

Still, she doesn't blindly follow me. It's obvious she's warring with herself as she tries to decide whether or not to trust me. Curse girls with brains.

The man from District 5 climbs from the water a couple hundred yards behind Katniss and if she doesn't make her decision soon, I'll have to make it for her. But then she snaps, "Right!" and I know I've got her on my side, if not completely won over.

My blood runs cold. The man's running this way, armed with nothing, perhaps counting on me distracting Katniss so he can snap her neck, hoping I'll kill her and then not kill him…I don't know. All I know is that Katniss is oblivious.

"Duck!" I shout. A command. She does and I throw the trident as hard as I can. Clearly, it's not what the man expected. He doesn't have time to get clear and the weapon pierces him in his chest. I try not to show how it affects me, even though it does. As I pull the trident from his lifeless chest, I say, "Don't trust 1 and 2."

She yanks the sheath of arrows from the pile and asks, "Each take one side?"

No. Let's stick together. It's easier for me to protect you that way. That's what I want to say. But I don't. I just nod and hope nothing happens to her as she darts off around the pile. Halfheartedly, I poke around in the weapons. Only a wickedly curved knife grabs my attention and I pull it free and shove it into my belt.

"Anything useful?" I shout. Say yes and let's get out of here, I think. After we get Peeta, of course.

Nothing for a second and my heart pounds into a quick rhythm. She can't die on my watch. I won't allow it. Finally, her voice echoes in the silence. "Weapons! Nothing but weapons!"

I sigh. "Same here. Grab what you want and let's go!"

I've already got what I want so I begin to make my way back around the Cornucopia when I hear the twang of the bowstring. This girl is more trouble than she's worth. Of course, by the time I reach the front of the pile, Katniss is there with knives, an awl, two sheathes of arrows and her bow in hand. A bleeding Gloss is in the water but Brutus is doggedly making his way towards us.

She's making me irritated. I hate being irritated. Let her save herself. "Do something about that, would you?" I ask.

The arrow is loosed from the string before I see it arrive there but Brutus blocks it with his belt. Purple goop sprays into his face and he dives back into the water to get it off. Maybe its poisonous and will kill him.

Katniss is reloading when he hits the water. "Let's clear out."

Not a bad idea. Enobaria and Gloss are back on the island now, poking around in the Cornucopia and I know they don't have an alliance with us. I know they're Careers and are probably bad news. I also know that Katniss is gonna wanna go get Peeta before something happens…yep. There she goes. Quickly, I take off after her, unwilling to risk her life to the Careers. This girl is not going to make things easy.

By the time I catch up at water's edge, she's throwing knives on the ground. Ha. I'm the swimmer here and I don't want anyone to forget it. I lay a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll get him." I say. She should say yes and trust me. After all, I have the bracelet. And I'm Finnick Odair. I'm trustworthy.

Nope. That would be too easy. "I can." She insists. Yeah…this girl's already grinding my last nerve. This is gonna be a long Quarter Quell.

I don't listen to her. Instead, I drop my trident, my net and my knife and flash her a pitying smile. Two can play at the annoying game. "Better not exert yourself. Not in your condition."

Confusion and then anger flash across her face and I congratulate myself. I knew the baby thing was a ruse and she's proved it. But it'll help me and I can play it up for the audience. So I pat her abdomen for added emphasis.

Before she can protest any more, I step to the edge of the water and get ready. "Cover me," I say and dive in. It's a perfect dive. Chew on that, hunter girl.

When I reach the far bank, Peeta doesn't look too wary. Don't be trouble, I command him in my thoughts. I do _not_ need that.

"Come on," I reach a hand out to him as I emerge, dripping wet, from the water. Make sure he can see the bangle on my wrist. "Katniss is waiting."

I'm not sure what exactly convinced him but he joins me at the water's edge and looks at me for a minute before saying, "Guess we're in this together, huh?"

Maybe he knows my goal is to get Katniss out alive, same as him. I don't know. All I do is shake my head, get a good grip on him, arm around his chest, and slide back into the water. It's hard work towing him across the water but I do it. We climb onto the sand beside Katniss.

Peeta goes to her at once. "Hello, again." He kisses her. I could almost barf, if just because it reminds me of Annie. "We've got allies."

Katniss answers, "Yes. Just as Haymitch intended." How much has this girl guessed, I wonder.

"Remind me, did we make deals with anyone else?" Peeta slips his arm around Katniss who nods towards the water.

"Only Mags, I think." Katniss says and I spin to look out at my old mentor making her way towards us. A burst of joy erupts in my chest.

"Well, I can't leave Mags behind," I answer promptly. "She's one of the few people who actually likes me."

I hope Katniss and Peeta don't argue. I'd hate to have to knock them out; I'm not leaving Mags behind. No way. Not when to do so would be to condemn her to death.

"I've got no problem with Mags." Katniss says. "Especially now that I see the arena. Her fishhooks are probably our best chance of getting a meal."

"Katniss wanted her on the first day." Peeta adds, as if that solves everything. It solves nothing, other than the fact that Katniss isn't ready to kill Mags yet. Now me on the other hand…that she sure might be ready to do.

Shake it off, Finn, I tell myself. "Katniss has remarkably good judgement."

Mags has reached me now and I pull her out of the water, knowing she won't mind. She knows she's older and not quite as agile as the rest of us. As I set her upright on the sand, she pats the belt at her waist and garbles something that even I can't make out. All I catch is the word "bob" but I've worked with Mags a really long time; I know what she means.

I look out at the sea and nod. "Look, she's right." I point to Beetee. "Someone figured it out." He's bobbing around in the water, looking like a fool but at least he's not dead or drowned. I knew Johanna wouldn't let him die.

"What?" Katniss asks. Is this girl really the Mockingjay? She doesn't seem too quick on the uptake. I decide to give her the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

"The belts. They're floatation devices." I say. It takes all that I am not to sound condescending or frustrated. But really, we should be miles from here by now. "I mean, you have to propel yourself but they'll keep you from drowning.

Surely, she'll see its time to go now. Instead, she stares at Beetee for a long moment and then looks around, like she's searching for someone. I want to tap my foot impatiently, maybe give her a poke with my trident but I don't. Allies don't do that. It's bad television. At least, they don't do it until they're ready to kill their ally.

After what seems like forever, Katniss pulls a bow, a sheath of arrows and a knife from the weapons piled in her hands and gives them to Peeta. Mags instantly starts tugging on her sleeve and babbling something I can tell Katniss doesn't understand but it's kind of funny so I just watch. Finally, she figures it out and gives Mags the awl.

Mags clenches the awl in her teeth and reaches her arms up to me. I know what she wants at once; this is how we'd decided we'd play it. So I move my net to one shoulder, hoist Mags over the other, make sure I've got a good grip on my tridents

And then we run, away from the Cornucopia. We run, as fast as we can, until the sand gives way to black dirt and towering trees. I'm not sure what to call this, it's not a forest…it's more dense, more compact. I'm sure Katniss has a word for it. But I don't really want to stop and ask her so instead, we just keep running.

I'm obviously the most physical fit of our group, not to mention the most handsome, so naturally I take the lead. But then Katniss pushes Peeta in front of me and insists that I go second, saying that I'm not as dangerous as I usually am while carrying Mags and that my trident isn't quite the weapon for this job. Already, I'm a bit winded so I don't waste breath arguing.

Peeta hacks a path in front of us with his long knife, leaving a clear trail for the Careers to follow but he doesn't really have much choice. It's hack a trail or have vines and stuff smack us in the face every step. Katniss brings up the rear, her bow tracking left and right. Maybe she was smart in putting me second. Doesn't mean I have to like it but maybe she was.

My legs are burning after a mile and my shoulder aches. Reluctantly, I ask for a break and Katniss agrees. I don't really care what Peeta's opinion is; I know he'll just do whatever Katniss does. Because she's his wife and pregnant and all that. Wonder how many people outside the Capitol actually believe that? How many of the tributes?

Katniss instantly scales a tree and I wonder what she's seeing. Seeder, Cecilia and Woof, holding defensive positions at the Cornucopia, keeping the non-rebels off our backs? The three of them, dead? Careers hot on our path?

I slump back against a tree. Mags has her eyes closed as she sits nearby and Peeta's facing the other way, keeping a guard out, I guess.

My thoughts return again to what Katniss is probably watching. The Mockingjay probably thought everyone's show of solidarity last night at the Interviews was genuine. And it was, for some of us. Not the Careers. Or District 5 or 9 or 10. A tiny grin creeps over my face as I realize she probably expected to see everyone letting everyone else live. In defiance of the Capitol. Silly girl. She can't honestly believe that's really what would happen. Pretty soon, she'll realize that not everyone is playing by her rules and then she'll have to make new rules.

A chilling thought causes me to jerk upright.

What's to stop Katniss from shooting me? Besides my charm and good looks, I mean. Really. What's to persuade her that this alliance is true? I can't up and tell her the whole plan because she might not believe me and the Capitol is watching. And I do have the bracelet. Sadly, I don't think that will be enough. She's not the trusting type, at least I don't think she is. Probably, I shouldn't have pulled the sugar cube act during the parade. _That_ sure didn't endear me to her. This alliance might not last very long but she won't be the one to kill me. I'll still do my part to protect her and him, even if it has to be from a distance.

Still, there's nothing to keep her from shooting an arrow through my brain as soon as she's back down the tree. Peeta could take out Mags with one stab from his knife. Then they'd be on their own, the way I'm sure they'd like to be. Slowly, so as not to arouse Peeta's suspicions, I raise my trident into a defensive position and watch as she comes down the tree.

At once, I can tell my thoughts were dead-on. She's decided an arrow in my back or even my head will be the best way to dispose of me. Got that part right; she wouldn't want to take me in hand-to-hand combat or anything where my trident will have the advantage.

I try to be casual. "What's going on down there, Katniss? Have they all joined hands? Taken a vow of non-violence? Tossed the weapons in the sea in defiance of the Capitol?" Part of me wishes she'd say yes. That would make my job a whole lot easier. And I'm tired of killing.

"No." She gets it, I see it in her eyes.

"No," I repeat, with added emphasis. "Because whatever happened in the past is the past. And no one in this arena is a victor by chance." A pause while I rethink that thought. Then, at that very moment, I know. I don't know how I know, maybe I saw it in her eyes or in her voice or the way her gaze goes all depressed yet hopeful when she looks at him.

Katniss Everdeen doesn't intend to come out of this arena alive.

**Author's Note: Hope you're enjoying this! Please read and review! It makes me happy when I get reviews!**


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